This invention relates to a portable playpen and more particularly to such a playpen which is durable, light in weight, safe in operation and one which may be readily assembled and disassembled.
Heretofore in the art to which my invention relates, difficulties have been encountered in constructing playpens which are easy to assemble and disassemble and at the same time provide the required safety to a child placed in the playpen.
While the Cirillo U.S. Pat. No. 4,376,318 and the Abajian U.S. Pat. No. 3,165,760 disclose an infant's playpen and crib, the netting forming the side members for the playpen or crib is carried by the horizontally extending upper and lower rails for the playpen or crib. Accordingly, it would be very difficult to separate the netting or fabric portion of the playpen or crib from the supporting frame therefor. Also, the Cirillo Pat. No. 4,376,318 discloses the vertical and horizontal frame members as being hingedly connected to each other. Accordingly, if a side of such a soft-mesh playpen is left folded down, an unattended infant can roll into a pocket formed by the mesh and suffocate. It is a well known fact that children have died when they rolled into the loose mesh pockets formed by the lowered sides of the playpen and suffocated. In view of the fact that drop side mesh playpens and cribs used with a side down can pose a severe health hazard for infants, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has urged juvenile furniture manufacturers to educate parents about the proper use of soft-mesh cribs and playpens that have been blamed for the death of infants. Another hazard encountered with conventional playpens having mesh side walls is that the hinges on the two sides can slip or be reached by the baby or an older child on the outside of the playpen and when triggered it can sever fingers and wrists of an infant. Also, there is a danger of the child injuring itself by falling against the metal frame members supporting the fabric netting.
Another difficulty encountered with conventional soft-mesh playpens is that it is very difficult to thoroughly wash the fabric whereby it is cleaned from baby diaper leaks, spitting-up and any germ-causing material, such as dirt and the like.